In addition to Women's History Month and Disability Awareness Month, March is also Youth Arts Month. So let's take a look at what some of the creative kids in Baltimore are doing as we celebrate the next generation of artists.

On Sunday, March 13, BOPA held a virtual awards ceremony for the students who were award recipients in the 2022 Maryland Region Scholastic Art & Writing Awards presented by Arcadia. This is the nation's longest running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens, and BOPA is the Maryland affiliate for both art and writing. In case you missed it, you can watch the 2022 Maryland Region awards ceremony on BOPA's YouTube page. You can also view exhibitions of this year’s Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mentions below:

The Gold Key recipients are automatically forwarded for consideration at the national level of the Scholastic Writing Awards. The National Awards will be announced this month and we wouldn't be surprised if some of our talented teens from Maryland were among the awardees.

Another group of teens who deserve recognition are the six students who make up the Baltimore City Youth Arts Council. The Baltimore City Arts Council is the only arts council in the state of Maryland that houses a Youth Council, recognizing the need for the perspective of young creatives in developing arts programming and policy. In addition to a monetary stipend, the Baltimore City Arts Council also provides leadership, professional development, and mentorship opportunities for these young people throughout the year.

This year’s council is focusing on a community arts research project to identify public art displays in underrepresented communities. To stay up to date on all things Youth Arts Council-related, be sure to follow BOPA on social media and stay tuned to see what these talented teens do!

BOPA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which means our programming is largely funded by donations from our constituents. Your tax-deductible donation helps us to create more programs, resources, & opportunities for Baltimore youth.

From Wednesday, March 16–Sunday, March 20, the BMA is hosting the annual countywide student exhibition, Art is for Everyone, presenting the artwork of Baltimore County public school students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. This is truly an exhibition for the whole family. For more information, and to get your free passes, click the button below.

The Arena Players is the oldest continuously-operating African-American community theatre in the United States, proudly founded right here in Baltimore.

On Friday, March 18, they open their production of Sunset Baby, written by acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau and directed by Baltimore native and multi-talented theatre artist Mari Andrea Travis.

The production runs weekends through Sunday, April 3. Get tickets, showtimes, and more information at the button below.

Head down to Baltimore's Lithuanian Hall on Saturday, March 19, at 3:00 p.m. for the first of three fundraising performances for Ukraine.

This event is presented by Carpathia Folk Dance Ensemble with additional performances by Hungarian folk dance ensemble Tisza, Mituva Lithuanian Folk Dance Ensemble, and Ukrainian a capella group SPIV-Zhyttya.

For tickets and more information about the event, click below.

BOPA consistently strives to find ways to create arts and culture programming that will engage our city's youth and elevate the next generation of Baltimore creatives. Here are some of the recent impacts of those efforts:

1/ST Racing and the Maryland Jockey Club have partnered with the Maryland

Institute College of Art (MICA) to launch "The Art of Racing," a unique art competition to honor the second jewel of the Triple Crown Series and its impact on Baltimore. From now until March 20, members of the public can cast their vote for their favorite piece of art. The winning artist of the inaugural competition will receive a $4,000 stipend and two tickets to Preakness 147 on May 21, 2022. To see the art and cast your vote, click below.

The Strand Theater in Northeast Baltimore is the only brick-and-mortar theater in the city dedicated solely to supporting and amplifying women's voices both on stage and off. Their next production, Inda Craig-Galván's Black Super Hero Magic Mama directed by Aladrian C. Wetzel, opens Friday, March 25.

Running through Sunday, April 10, this play explores the depth and power of a Black mother's love. For tickets, showtimes, and safety measures, click below.

On Friday, March 25, Fells Point Corner Theatre opens its production of A Doll's House, Part 2, written by Lucas Hnath and directed by Steve Goldklang. The play picks up 15 years after the events of Henrik Ibsen's controversial masterpiece A Doll's House left off — with Nora's unexpected return. What follows is a lively discussion about what we owe to each other.

There is also a pay-what-you-can preview performance on Thursday, March 24, at 8:00 p.m. And, as a show of support for the people of Ukraine, FPCT will be donating the proceeds from concessions sales during the opening weekend of A Doll’s House, Part 2 to Together Rising, which is supporting numerous organizations doing good on the ground in Ukraine. For all performance dates, tickets, and directions, click below.

On Saturday, March 26, from 12:00–8:00 p.m., some of Baltimore's best food trucks are taking over Power Plant Live for the 2nd Annual Baltimore Street Food Festival. Cooking is an art in and of itself, but it requires a whole other kind of creativity to make your menu mobile.

In addition to the food truck vendors, there will be tons of live entertainment, general vendors, axe throwing, a beer garden, free hard seltzer sampling, eating challenges, and more. For details and tickets, click below.

CityLit Project presents the 19th annual CityLit Festival, a celebration of literature for readers and writers alike. "How We Break Free: Confronting Hard Truths" is the underlying theme of the month-long event this year.

On Tuesday, March 29, from 7:30–9:00 p.m., CityLit is hosting an event titled "How We Get Free: The Birth of Promise with Christine Platt, Chloe Dulce Louvouezo & Kristoffer Carter." This festival "finale" of sorts will start with a half hour coaching session for writers taking on new or large projects, followed by a meaningful conversation with three game-changing authors. The event is free to attend. Click the button below for more information.

BOPA is a sponsor of the CityLit Festival and is proud to partner with the Enoch Pratt Free Library to support readers and writers of all ages.

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Make sure to keep virtually in touch with BOPA! Follow us @promoandarts for your dose of art, to receive local arts resources, and to learn about how Baltimore's creative community is keeping the arts thriving.

BOPA is proud to serve as your arts council, event center, and film office. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we are committed to ensuring Baltimore remains a vibrant, thriving arts community. We cannot do it without the support of our community — philanthropic funders, program partners, artists, volunteers, and you!